Eternals

Rewatched for the Once Upon a Franchise podcast. Listen to the full episode here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3TRxCOr2GppebXdlkerytu?si=6f1c14f6a95b4efb Rating: A- ETERNALS just jumped a lot in my consideration. Time has only sharpened what already worked: this is, without exaggeration, *the* most beautiful film the MCU has ever produced, with Chloé Zhao's naturalistic, on-location filmmaking style giving the action a physical weight and the VFX a rare consistency where nothing ever looks jarring or synthetic. It's a genuinely intimate character study dressed up as a seven-thousand-year cosmic epic — one unafraid to sit with existential dread, questions of faith, and a found family fracturing under the weight of its own secrets — and it does so with a diverse, inclusive ensemble whose representation never once feels forced or performative. It still has its issues regarding the antagonist(s) and the heavy exposition, but damn, do I love this movie now...

**1ST TIME: "Fun, Albeit A Bit TOO Revisionist.... { & _FANTASTICAL_ }". 2ND VIEWING: I Was Utterly -{ " D A Z Z L E D " }- By Chloé Zhao's VISUAL "MAGIC" ....& Her { _ENTIRE_ } Cast & Crew 🌠** A **-{ _B I G_ }-** Screen Review ; Film Watched **TWICE** . ______________________________________________________ Druig : " I've watched humans destroy each other when I could stop it all in a heartbeat. Do you know what that does to someone after centuries...??? Could our mission have been a mistake..?! Are we really helping these people build a better world..?! We're just like the soldiers down there: pawns to their leaders... BLINDED BY LOYALTY!!! ". ______________________________________________________ **A " HIGH POINTS " :** 1- Just to "Keep Things Fresh", I'm going to shake it up a bit, & start with the Musical side of things, this time around. Ergo : " So -{ Completely }- Enchanting, Engrossing, & just downright 'On-Point  was the -entire- soundtrack for "Eternals" ; with its -Utterly- captivating blend of Soft Rock, Celestial Choirists, 'Heavenly-Ethereal', Soprano Soloists & even a plain good old-fashioned 'silky smooth guitar-synth-vocal ensemble' from Pink Floyd . . . . . that I simply couldn't help but have the -Nagging- feeling that this goliath movie's veteran Music Director, ( Ramin Djawadi ), took an 'Inspirational' page out of Tom Holkenborg's sheerly -Fantastic- 'Musical Playbook' for 'GVK' ( 2021 ), & just ran with it, in the 'best way possible' ". 2- Visually, the picture is nothing short of -{ MESMERIZING 🌌 }- , comfortably living up to the "Super"-high standards set by -{ ALL }- of the past 25 MCU ( Marvel Cinematic Universe ) Creations, starting with the "Fabulous" And Indeed, -Groundbreaking- 'Ironman', all those years ago in '08 ( with Ramin -Also- doing the whole score for -that- particular Marvel film, incidentally ! ). The Art Direction, Fight Choreography, Stuntwork, Post-Production Digital Effects -and- the Live 'On-Set' - Physical- Special Effects are -all- 'Par Excellence', & well and -{ Truly }- leave little to be desired. 3- Eternals's cinematography, entirely -Unsurprisingly- , is for the most part 'Lavish, Pristine, & often just outright Gorgeous' ; as is only be -expected- , I suppose, of a movie shot by the likes of -Veteran- lensman Ben Davis . . . . who clearly worked 'Hand-In-Glove' with its "Frightfully" Talented Directress, the one & only Chloé Zhao 🔥. At a 'diminutive' 5 feet 4 inches, the ever 'decorous', some might even say 'demure' "Miz" Zhao is fast becoming a veritable 'come-from-behind' " CINEMATIC POWDER KEG", in the world of all things Hollywood. When Marvel undertook its -{ "Massive }- gamble by hiring the -Relatively- unknown ( at -that- point ) filmmaker to direct Eternals in Sept.'18 . . . . little did they know that she would not only go on to direct what was to later become the "Best Picture" Oscar Winner 2021 ( "Nomadland" - 2020 - Indie ) ; but that she would -Also- take home "Best Director" ; with the picture having been nominated in -YET ANOTHER FOUR- categories ; and having gone on to -Win- one more Oscar Award -Still- 👏❗ So in a nutshell, if you saw Nomadland and thoroughly appreciated its wide, expansive, & breathtakingly lovely shots, then Eternals -Is- likely to be immensely gratifying to you in -that- respect, without a question . . . with the latter -Not Only- 'generously' providing many, many -{ S P R A W L I N G L Y }- Beautiful Vistas for the eyes to 'feast' on . . . but -Also- giving you a few Mind Numbingly Stellar SPACE shots, as well. **B " DRAW BACKS " :** 1- I suppose I would be -Well- advised to say, at this point, 'Right-off-the-bat' , that Eternals is well and truly a -Genuinely- difficult film to fully, well . . . . -{ " U N P A C K " }- . . . . what with its myriad "Revisions" of not only Earth's natural history, but of that of the -Entire- Cosmos 🤷‍♂️❗, as well ; not to mention some -OUTRIGHT- "Dichotomies", -{ And }- a truly 'Massive' -Gaping- Hole in the story, towards the end of said movie. The 'gaff' in question is quite -literally- ...{ "COLOSSAL" }... as it pertains to a pointedly "Spatial" aspect relating to the Celestial 'Tiamut'-s "Emergence" ...( hinted at in multiple -Official- previews for the Eternals )... and occurs within the picture's grand finale. I won't reveal any more details about said mistake, because I'm trying very hard to keep this a -NON- spoiler review, ( and what's more, I am confident that if you pay close enough attention to said finale, you are -Very- unlikely, to miss it ). 2- Also, the 'Deviants', ( a.k.a alien ' Apex Predators 👾 ', one of whom is prominently seen fighting Angelina Jolie's 'Thena' on a beach in the aforementioned trailers ), appear a bit too "Wire Fram-ey" ....for lack of a better phrase.... for at least the -Entire- first half of the film. In other words: the WIRE-FRAME look that they embody hurts that whole proverbial 'Suspension-Of-Disbelief' thing . . . . to a small, albeit -{ Significant }- . . . . degree. Other than that, as I'm -Immensely- pleased to report, the film boasts nothing less than a -{ "Stunning" }- level of CGI prowess, all the way through. **C " FINAL SUMMARY " :** This is EASILY Marvel s -{ Most }- "Thought-Provoking" movie, Although 'Infinity War' and 'Endgame', ( with all of their -Own- varied and multitudinous complexities ), are not necessarily -All- that far behind. The fact is, this veritable cinematic collosus boasts not only -Several- Intensely { HUMAN } moments . . . . but also a level of -Philosophical- , ( and I'm going to be -Very- honest here ), 'straightup', you guessed it, -{ EXISTENTIALIST }- mind fodder, as well . . . which most certainly makes it 'the exception and -Not- the rule', in the world of modern day, massive-scale, 'Contemporary Popular Entertainment'. What's more, the absolute- totality of the -Principal- actresses and actors, bar -NONE- .....( it's a sheer 'Who's Who' ensemble cast of about 13, hence too many to mention here )..... do an undeniably -Wonderful- job bringing these 'super-Exotic' characters to life ( almost ) -directly- out of the late great Jack Kirby's ( Rest In Love ! ) comic-book pages. If I just -Had- to pick the performance that stood out for me though, it would unquestionably be Miz. Chan's ( 'Sersi'-s ) truly august & dignified, um, " Gemma 💎 👏❗Of A Performance" ( sorry peeps, -Just- couldn't resist that one ! ) . . . on account of the Deeply Beautiful "HUMANITY-AND-EMPATHY" that she so effortlessly appears to bring to her -Leader's- role, in Eternals. **Thus, it's going to be : A " Solid, Whole Hearted . . . . And Indeed, -{ "Super" }- Appreciative 8.75 Marks Out Of 10 Marks ", From Yours Truly.**